1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lever connector.
2. Description of Related Art
As shown in FIG. 25 of this application, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-4419 discloses a lever connector 100 which includes a rack-and-pinion mechanism. In the lever connector 100, shallowly mating a housing 102 with a mating housing 101 enables rack teeth 106 of a rack portion 105 to mesh with pinion teeth 104 of a pinion portion 103.
When a lever 107 is rotated with a finger placed on an operation portion 108 of the lever 107, the rack-and-pinion mechanism works. As a result, the mating housing 101 is pulled toward the housing 102 with a small operating force.
When the lever 107 is rotated to a predetermined position, a cover 109 also moves to a closed position in accordance with the rotation of the lever 107, so that a lock portion 112 is mated with a lock hole 111 of a lock piece 110. Accordingly, the cover 109 is held at the closed position and the lever 107 is also held at the mating position.
How much it is necessary to operate the lever 107 is determined by various design parameters, such as a movement necessary for the housing 102 with respect to the mating housing 101 when the housing 102 is pulled toward the mating housing 101, and the magnitude of the boosting effect of the rack-and-pinion mechanism required when the housing 102 is pulled toward the mating housing 101.
However, emphasis has not been placed on reducing a workload on an operator by reducing how much the lever 107 is operated.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique that reduces a workload on an operator during mating of a lever connector.